For six seasons, the core group on teen drama Dawson’s Creek try to figure out this whole growing up thing while falling in love and planning for the future. Since Joey Potter (Katie Holmes), Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek), Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams), Pacey Witter (Joshua Jackson), and Jack McPhee (Kerr Smith) are the main characters, they’re the people that fans have grown the most invested in.
Capeside may be a small town (and an idyllic one at that) but whether Dawson and his friends are still at home or have moved to Boston after high school, they’re always interacting with other people. Let’s take a look at some of these more minor characters who pop up from time to time. Whether friends, love interests, colleagues, other students, or bosses, these supporting characters share one thing in common: fans don’t love them. Here are the 10 most hated supporting characters on Dawson’s Creek.
10. Tamara Jacobs
Let’s get this out of the way: Tamara Jacobs (Leann Hunley) is an unlikable character as soon as she walks into the video store where Dawson and Pacey work in the pilot. It’s clear that Pacey is interested in her and that’s a bad idea since she’s much older than him. Once fans learn that she’s actually his teacher and they start an affair, things go from sketchy to illegal and it’s pretty frustrating to watch this relationship unfold.
Tamara is one of the most hated supporting characters on the show because she shouldn’t take advantage of Pacey, who is definitely more innocent than he seems. In season one, episode two “Prelude to a Kiss”, she says, “You need to find a girl your own age. Not some insane middle-aged woman,” but that doesn’t change his actions.
9. Drue Valentine
Drue Valentine (Mark Matkevich), who appears in the fourth season, is also one of the most hated supporting characters on Dawson’s Creek.
Drue and Jen used to spend time together in New York, and he’s rude and cocky and seems to hold his knowledge of her past against her. He seems like a typical high schooler who wants to make everyone’s life miserable because he feels that way, and it doesn’t add anything to the show.
8. Todd Carr
Dawson comes across a lot of conceited people during his time in Hollywood, and Todd Carr (Hal Ozsan) might be the worst.
This character basically has all of the worst stereotypes of a director who isn’t as successful as he wants to be. Sure, Dawson is his assistant director, which seems like a good career opportunity, but Todd’s horror film isn’t anything to write home about. It would have been more interesting to have Dawson work for someone who could actually mentor him.
7. Oliver Chirckirk
Dawson teams up with Oliver Chirckirk (Jordan Bridges) on a movie in season five of Dawson’s Creek. Oliver is the star and definitely acts like a cocky actor who thinks very highly of himself.
Oliver is also one of the most hated supporting characters on the show as he’s not the nicest guy but also doesn’t really have any defining personality traits. He makes fans miss the days when Dawson hung out with the rest of the gang all the time, watching movies in his bedroom and dreaming of the future. It’s difficult to watch Dawson struggle so much to make his dreams happen and Oliver feels like an obstacle for him.
6. Abby Morgan
Abby Morgan (Monica Keena)’s tragic death in season two ends Jen into a depression but ultimately seems to help her learn an important lesson about grief and life, so maybe that’s her purpose on the show.
Other than that, Abby is a mean girl who is just as hard to deal with as anyone that fans of the show dealt with back when they were in high school themselves. She doesn’t do herself any favors in the first season episode “Detention” when she spills that Joey loves Dawson. Sure, this was obvious to everyone, but it was painful and humiliating for Joey to hear this out loud.
5. Natasha Kelly
If Dawson is going to be in a relationship with someone who isn’t Joey or Jen, who fans would probably agree are his only suitable love interests, it shouldn’t be an actress who he’s directing. That just makes things awkward… and not in a way that makes for good TV.
Natasha Kelly (Bianca Kajlich) is an irritating character who whines a lot and wants to boss Dawson around. She doesn’t seem to really get his sweet, sensitive nature, and they make a strange couple.
4. Eve Whitman
The second season of Dawson’s Creek doesn’t really live up to the promise of the first one. After an exciting season one finale where it seemed like Joey and Dawson would finally be together, the second outing is all over the place with random characters and haphazard plotlines. One of the worst supporting characters is Eve Whitman (Britanny Daniel).
Eve is Jen’s half-sister, which seems totally unnecessary considering the fact that Jen comes from a broken home and already has a pretty dramatic backstory. She was kicked out of her home and sent to live with her Grams in Capeside, and she doesn’t talk to her parents at all. Eve and Dawson also date, which is frustrating as his more interesting love interests are Jen and Joey.
3. Cliff Elliot
Scott Foley is always a lovable actor and will always be known for his role as Noel Crane on Felicity, but his Dawson’s Creek character, Cliff Elliot, isn’t lovable at all.
It might be unrealistic to expect teen dramas to stop featuring characters who are rich, privileged, and just want to get the girl, but this sums up Cliff and he’s boring to watch for that reason. It’s clear from the start that he and Jen aren’t going to be a happy couple, and it’s hard to know what she sees in him.
2. Rich Rinaldi
Even Rich Rinaldi’s name sounds creepy, so right away, this doesn’t sound like a great character. When Pacey is trying to figure out his life after the gang moves on from Capeside and goes to Boston, one of his attempts to be an adult involves a job in finance in season six.
Rich (Dana Ashbrook) is Pacey’s boss and equal parts dull and horrible to watch. In the episode “Catch-22,” Pacey tells Rich, “You know Rich, you are so good at your job too that often I forget what an unfeeling prick you are!” and that really sums it up. Pacey needs some cash because he made the wrong choice with the stock market, but Rich couldn’t care less. Rich is also a terrible character because he calls Pacey a “loser” and no one should do that to the lovable Pacey, who has come so far since his insecure high school days.
1. Charlie Todd
After appearing on Gilmore Girls as Tristan Dugray, the rich kid who has a crush on Rory but calls her “Mary” in order to taunt her, Chad Michael Murray played Charlie Todd on Dawson’s Creek.
He’s one of the most hated supporting characters on the show and definitely overstays his welcome. He’s first introduced as a love interest for Jen, but that goes sour when he cheats on her. It’s hilarious to watch Jen and the other girl get their revenge, but she deserves so much better. Charlie then makes his move on Joey and they have a weird almost relationship. Of all the minor characters on the series, Charlie is perhaps the least necessary as it’s clear from the start that he’s a jerk and it should be obvious to everyone else.
